Welcome to the War
by maximorph1
Summary: It wasn't a god that brought about the events that would bring me into hell itself. It wasn't a wizard's whims that gifted me with the most powerful kind of weapon imaginable and made me go to war. It wasn't even a cosmic phenomenon that ripped me from hearth and home into foreign lands and worlds. It was me. God help me now.


**Welcome to the War**

Chapter 1

Try not to die right away

It wasn't a god that brought about the events that would bring me into hell itself. It wasn't a wizard's whims that gifted me with the most powerful kind of weapon imaginable and made me go to war. It wasn't even a cosmic phenomenon that ripped me from hearth and home into foreign lands and worlds. No, the one and only being that undid my future and diced it away is the same one I see the the mirror every morning to shave.

Me.

Me me me me me

Me, myself, and I. So in the end, despite what outcomes lay before me, the only one I can blame is me.

And as soon as I catch up to me, my foot is going to connect right with _my_ balls so hard  I can feel it. Confused, don't worry it took a bit for even me to get wrapped around the whole idea.

It was just an ordinary evening. Looking up my e mails and checking updates on my favorite sites on the internet. Typical, average, one hundred percent modern American bachelor with no feature that could be considered strong or unique, that was who I was. That was who I was always going to be, and I was quite content with it. Oh sure, when I was younger I would have given nearly anything to go off on an adventure, see the sights, somehow kick the enemy to the curb, get the girl, and ride off into the sunset. Then I grew up, got a job, an apartment, a couple gaming consoles, a computer, and a high speed internet connection and found... if not happiness, then at least contentment.

Then I got a knock at the door.

Now, my apartment is a nice, quiet, and isolated one so anyone knocking on my door is a rarity. I don't talk to my neighbors, and they don't talk to me. In other words, the only ones that come a calling are either salesmen or family, who would have called me long before taking the five hour drive to come and visit me.

"Who is it?" I asked a little annoyed to be bothered by others, suspecting it to be nothing more than another sales rep.

"Excuse me." I hear coming from behind my door, "But I think I got your mail."

Those were the fateful words that brought me up from my chair to open the door, not exactly epic or ominous; rather innocent and disarming in fact. Perhaps I should have looked out of the peek hole, but the sudden announcement of my mail seemed legit and my neighborhood was a decent one so I had no suspicions. Honestly, I didn't even notice how familiar the voice sounded. I'd like to say I had simply shrugged it off as nothing more that the acoustics caused by the door in the way, but the truth is that I wasn't paying attention.

Opening the door however proved to be a mistake, though one that ultimately would have been meaningless anyways. I was probably going to get to me with or without consent.

"Yes?" I asked as I opened the door.

That's when a goddamned gauntlet grabbed my face, clamping my jaw shut with inhuman strength, nearly cracking my teeth in the process. I was then roughly pushed back, hand still on my face as panic set in and ineffective flailing at the origin of the limb began.

Only to stop.

My whole body refused to move, my ability to see shuts down, and I felt a burning sensation in my head of all places. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, if I could of screamed I would have. Thankfully, it lasts for what seemed to be a few seconds, but those supposed seconds felt much longer dammit.

"That should do it." I hear as my vision focuses. Though my right eye was partially covered by the gauntlet, the left eye has no problem seeing two figures in my apartment. One of which has just turned around to shut my apartment door behind him. The other one, the one that stood out in a, I kid you not, was in a full suit of medieval armor. Yet, when I looked at the individual, my eyes just could not focus on him. It trying to look at something through an unfocused camera. I could make out pure white armor, red cloth, and I swore that there were horns or something on the helm, but I couldn't be sure.

Then the other individual turned back to me and suddenly captured all my attention away from mystery armor guy. It was, well, me. An older me, probably in mid to late thirties, as opposed to my mid twenty self, but unmistakably me. He looked tired, not the running a marathon kind of tired. More like had a long day at work, picked up overtime, and then had to change a tire on the car before coming home kind of tired.

"Ragnarok," The older me began, "Stratious, Kanor, Proterg, Max, Abomination, Anchisa Banna Anach."

If I could have, I would have cussed at those words. For anyone else, they would have been a collection of meaningless syllables listed from a lunatic. For me, however, its link to my past, or more specifically, with characters I created in the last days of middle school and held onto well into college. They were...my everything in a way, my friends, my children, my inspiration, my hate, my rage, and everything else that was me condensed into super powered characters I made to have adventures when I could not.

No one other than me and my little sister ever knew their names, or even knew that they existed, and I am more than certain that she has long forgotten them herself.

With the listing off of original characters I created many years ago and played with in my head for over a decade and still remember fondly long after I put them away, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was indeed me. The olden me then snorted and said, "You know who I am, so lets get to it. Red." The last word was not for me, but for the armored one as the older me grabbed 'Red' who still onto my face with that gauntlet

'Red' then began glowing, honest to god glowing like this was a cartoon or comic series or something, before the three of us were enveloped in blinding light made of all the colors of the rainbow and then some. Once my retinas were no longer assaulted by the closest approximation to sunlight, and the subsequent blind spots in vision, I noted that I was no longer in my apartment. Rather, I was in what could only be a structure underground, the lack of windows a dead giveaway in the quickly dying light.

At that moment, 'Red' let me go and my body came back under my control, or should I say, my whole body relaxed causing me to collapse to my knees and fall forward to hit my head with an audible 'thud'. I think I blacked out for a bit there, but its hard to say for certain. Shock seemed like a reasonable enough reaction to running smack into another variant of myself. Of course, reason probably no longer applied to the situation, and frankly, I had a bad feeling about what other me has just done.

I stand up just in time to hear some sort of chanting going on, but didn't focus on the chant, but rather, the armored figure who stood before me in the shadows. "What...is going on?" I ask aloud. A reasonable enough question I figured, but all I got was silence, minus the chanting of course. I really should have paid attention to the chant, I might have tried to pull a runner. Not that it would have worked, probably, but it would have been the smart decision.

I definitely paid attention to the appearance of some sort of mystic circle appearing on the floor. "That doesn't look good." I utter.

With that, my future self turns back to me with a completely neutral expression "Welcome to Heaven's Feel." He drawled to me, "Welcome to to the war." He pointed to a glowing circle. "Your destiny awaits and all that." He then walked away from me, but stopped after two steps. "Oh yeah, here's your mail." With that, he threw a thick envelope with the words 'To you, From me' scrawled on it. "Now excuse me, but there's a certain future self of mine in need of a swift kick to the nuts. Let's go Red."

With that, the two of them vanished leaving me with the glowing circle.

"Heaven's Feel? What like Fate Stay Night?" I asked aloud even as he vanished. Immediately after, the circle goes from softly glowing to bursting with light. "Wait! I didn't summon! I didn't summon! I-...that sonofabitch." I growled as I pocketed the envelope. "I guess I did."

I have no idea how he did it. He somehow got the Grail to think I was the one that did the summoning. I mean granted, we are, in theory, the one and the same soul and would have, in theory the same signature. But how he did it I'm not sure I'll ever figure it out.

Well, somehow I guess I will in some sort of future, but right then in there all I could do was brace myself for whatever came out, even as I felt a brief sensation of sharp pain on my left hand. Honestly, though, I wasn't going to pay attention to my hand when a figure is appearing out from the circle.

It was the exact same 'Red' figure my future self had. Shocking, I know, what are the odds?

Said 'Red', then proceeded to the most unexpected, the most stupefying, the most astounding thing in the whole universe.

Absolutely nothing.

Not kidding, I saw absolutely no movement at all. No indications of shifting, shuffling, readjusting, or even breathing. Well, that was impressive, as in awkward. I was kind of expecting some sort of question about being a master or something.

Nope.

Not a single indication that 'Red' was even alive appeared, and there was only so long I could stand the awkward silence before I had to break it.

"...Hello?" as speak carefully to the living statue, more and more certain that something had gone horribly wrong. Much to my chagrin and a little despair, all I got was a deep growling that set my teeth on edge.

"Um, do you understand me?" Yet another growl was all I got, not even a nod or shake of the head.

"Oh god, its the Berserker class." I can't help but say with dread. Of all the classes, this one is the most likely to get me killed. Not only does it lack normal human reason and communication skills, but it has the infamy of being the class almost always killed its own Master. The only reason Illya hadn't died was because of her insane amounts of Prana and the near complete erasure of Berserker's mind.

This was not good at all. Any other class would have been preferable. Caster especially for this non-Magus guy here. No Prana? No problem. Well, when life puts a knife to your throat better start negotiating fast.

What did I know about Berserkers? Well unless it was afflicted with class A rank mad enhancement, this guy did have a mind of its own, one that almost certainly completely and utterly consumed by rage. That it didn't kill me right off the bat indicated that either: it didn't want me dead just yet, which would mean there is a mind somewhere in there, or it lacks even the slightest capability to think for itself.

Either way, I can't work with this. I need something smarter. I need something that I can safely ally with and hopefully not get killed beside.

' _Okay, how am I going to do this?_ ' I thought. ' _I need it to think of a way to get rid of the madness, or at least dampen it enough to think coherently and form some sort of rudimentary logic_.' The meant I had to have alter its mind in some way. ' _Oh sure, no problem. Let me just pull up my sleeves, draw my never before seen wand and demonstrate magic that shakes the very heavens. Now, realistically, what do I have?_ '

Shirt, shorts, socks, and shoes

Seemed to be the letter 'S' kind of day. ' _Wait_ ,' I looked down, 'd _on't forget the underwear! Oh god I'm screwed, royally screwed. How the hell am I supposed to perform some sort of magic? it's not like I have any kind of it...on...me.'_

I lifted my left hand. Sure enough, three symbols that form an image that kind of looks like flames. All I need to activate them is will, not even a scrap of magic required. Not sure why, but I can work with it. It then suddenly struck me as strange that, somehow, I knew exactly how to use them. I knew exactly how to operate and use the command seals.

Well, it looks like the creators of the system were kind enough to put an idiots operating guide on the seals. My bet's on Zelretch, who else could have the long term vision that some poor schmuck would get pulled into this war without knowing how or why? Either way, doesn't matter. Now I just have to determine how many command seals to spend. All three at once would guarantee the mad enhancement would cease to exist, and then probably cause 'Red' here to vanish.

One command seal is probably not enough. My guess was that at best, the effects of madness would've lessened only slightly. Just as Rin's command for obedience over Archer only affected him slightly.

Yeah, anyone who watched the Unlimited Blade Works route would know how useless it ultimately was at preventing betrayal. On the other hand, in that same route, on one of the bad ends, Caster used two command seals on Saber forcing her to obey Caster and kill Shirou, Rin, and Archer.

I guessed that 'two' was going to be my lucky number. Now how to word it...ah! Somehow, I thought I had just figured out my key to salvation

"A hero is oft beset upon, not just in body, but in mind. A hero undergoes trials that would drive a lesser man insane, and emerges triumphant, and you are a hero." My left hand glows brightly, before a single seal vanishes, and the 'flame' shrinks in size. "Resist the madness, for you are more than mere mortal, you are a hero, and you will not shame yourself so." My hand glows again before another seal vanishes. Only one seal remains, looking like a pitiful spark on my hand, but it will have to do I suppose.

"A hero, I cannot recall the last time I was thought as such." I suddenly hear from this 'Red' in a strange tone. It's kind of like hearing someone speak through an old phone. A strange echo like distorted voice. One I couldn't tell if 'Red' was male or female.

"I find the title is often overused or misused myself." I admit with a slight shrug. "So, how are you feeling?"

"I-" 'Red' paused, probably to consider the best wording, "-resist. Yes, I resist. I can feel my rage burning, but I can control it."

"Even in battle?" That was kind of important. It would be one thing to be able to remain sane in peace. It would be a whole different story if 'Red'

"Yes." 'Red' replied, and even with the distortion, I could tell that reply was stiff from insult.

"Okay," I spoke, both relieved that it worked and did not waste my work. Now, 'Red's' mind was resisting the effects of mad enhancement in some fashion, probably decreasing the effects of the 'enhancement' part of 'mad enhancement'. However, now 'Red' could actually think for him/herself.

Frankly, I thought the trade off was worth it, better a canny warrior than a dumb madman at my side.

So, I had one command seal left. Ah, crud, I just had a sudden thought looking back, I probably could have used the three seals to get me home. I want to hit my head on a wall for only now thinking of it. I guess at that point I had already committed myself to going to war. This, this is why I'm not a soldier, sound tactical ideas are not my strong suit.

For me back then, I thought that there was only one thing I could have done. Fight the war, survive, get the hell out of dodge. Sounded simple, only there was...what, thirty bad ends to five good ends in the visual novel? Actually, I wouldn't even call Heaven's Feel true end as a good end. Okay, that would make the final count at about one in eight odds of getting out of here alive and mostly intact.

"Master?" the Servant asks me.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry. My mind drifted off." I quickly apologized. That wasn't good it looked like I was plotting something, or at least I thought so. "Um, how much do you know about the Grail War?"

That would probably buy me a bit of time for my mind to come up with some sort of plan; one that didn't revolve around curling up in a corner gibbering to myself or coming out minus a head on my shoulders.

A slight tilting of the head emerged from Berserker, before apparently coming to some sort of conclusion and indulged me of my request. "The Holy Grail war is a competition between seven Masters and seven Servants. Each Servant is summoned from one the the seven classes: Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Berserker, Caster, and Assassin. All seven pairs will fight against each other until only one pair remains, upon which the Holy Grail will appear to grant an all powerful wish for them. Is that sufficient?" It asked me, as though wondering if I needed to hear any more.

I can't help but sigh at that. My partner really does not have the slightest clue as the the 'true' purpose of Heaven's Feel. "Okay, before I begin, one last question. What war number is this?"

"Excuse me?"

"Is this the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth Grail war?" I clarified. Kind of important to know how much knowledge I possessed about the time line.

"It is the fourth." Berserker replied. I got a sense that 'Red' was frowning at the question.

"Great" I muttered in mild despondence. "Okay, let's start with the first lie you've been told. The holy grail is already here, you don't need to fight for it."

"What?"

"The grail has already formed. Ultimately, it means nothing. The grail is nothing more than a cup, what's needed is the contents to fill the cup." I looked directly at 'Red', hoping, even with the visual distortion around the Servant to glimpse even the slightest body language. No such luck, but I wasn't going to let this individual out of sight, even in the dimness.

"The contents...I don't understand."

"The grail is but a cup, until it is filled with the highest concentrations of prana possible. Which only comes from one source, Servants. In other words, the war is not fought to make the cup appear, but rather, fill the cup with the essence of the fallen Servants."

"Ah, I see, but I do not understand why you seem to deem the distinction important." It was a fair enough question. The end result is the same, Servants have to fight and die. However, as anyone who paid even the slightest attention to canon can recall, there is a rather sinister problem with that equation.

"Simple, its not six servants that need to die to fill the cup. Its seven." I explained as I held up my left hand with its lonely seal on display, glowing softly in the darkness. "The purpose of the command seals isn't to grant miracles, it's to order the Servants to commit suicide."

That, at least, got a response I could see. As in the ground cracked beneath red's right foot while the sounds of gauntlets straining under pressure of a clenched fist reached my ear. Expecting that, however, I didn't flinch under the rising signs of anger. "That's why," I continued, "the Grail Wars were originally called Heaven's Feel ritual. Honestly, the original idea was for seven Masters to summon seven Servants and have them all kill themselves right off the bat. Would have taken less than a day all told. If, of course, there hadn't been backstabbing and betrayal that inevitably happens when a wish granting device appears before a group of humans."

"I'm nothing more than a sacrifice?" 'Red' hissed at me. I never believed in the concept of feeling anger before then, but I have to say, at that moment, I became a believer. The slightly nippy air of the room felt hot all around me at that point and an almost pinching sensation on the front of my neck became evident.

"No," I retorted with more than a little irritation and hurt, "you're not. Now let me continue." Surprisingly, I didn't die right then and there. Rather, I heard 'Red' take in a deep breath and regain control, and the air and sensations on my neck disappeared.

"I apologize, Master." 'Red' spoke with the slightest degree of...well, submissiveness and a slight lowering of the head. Not the most comforting of overtones from something that I am going to need to keep my hide intact. Still, better than an arrogant asshole I guess. "I have wronged you, I should not have accused you in the face of such honesty and truth."

"Well you should, but let me speak first, then we'll discuss our partnership."

It was that last word which would rather quickly bring about a situation I never expected or dreamed of, but it would be quite some time before I realized exactly what path I had laid out for the two of us. Back then, however, I just wanted to get through the whole messed up situation that was the Grail war.

"So where was I again?" I asked, trying to remember where I had been interrupted.

"All Seven Servants die." 'Red' supplied

"Ah yes. So ultimately, that was what Heaven's Feel ritual was supposed to do. Seven Servants appear, get murdered by their master, and have their essence fill the grail so that a wish could be granted. Originally, the whole thing was concocted by three magi families. The Tohsaka provided the land saturated with enough spiritual energy to support the system, the Makiri, or Matou as they are now, came up with and created these lovely command seals here, and as for the Einzbern, they're the ones that started this whole mess.

"Once upon a time they possessed the True Magic of resurrecting the dead, which was called Heaven's Feel." Upon seeing the slight tilt of 'Red's' head, I knew that 'Red' connected the dots between Heaven's Feel and Heaven's Feel ritual "Then the morons lost it, about a thousand years ago. How? I don't know. Why? I don't care. Either way, for the past thousand years they tried to regain their lost power, but lacked the ability to do so. Finally, someone had the bright idea to actually go outside and ask for help, which lead to the recruitment of the other two families.

"The Einzbern brought to the table the ability to summon Servants. Combined with the Tohsaka land and the Makiri seals, it should have been easy to bring back the lost magic with the grail. What the three families forgot was the motivations of the other four participating magi who were all strangers that followed the scent for power and joined in, uncaring of the wishes of the three founders."

I couldn't hold back a snort "And that is how the first grail war went to hell in a hand basket going from a powerful ritual into chaos and the destruction of the first grail. Sixty years later, the three families tried again, only to get the same result. Then came the third war, once again sixty years after the previous war." I paused, "Are you with me so far?"

"I am." 'Red' replied. I waited a moment for any additional words, which never appeared, before coming to a conclusion; this is one of the most short spoken individuals I ever met. Probably why the original me was able to summon 'Red', that's far to similar to me on an ordinary day. One that does not involve future selves, death tournaments, or resurrected heroes of yore.

"Right, well the third war was different for one reason, the Einzbern. In the previous wars, the Einzbern failed to remain for very long in the rituals. Each time they participated, their Servant and Master pair were quickly eliminated. As Alchemists, they are always going to be at a disadvantage in something that is a war in all but name with magi as opponents. Yet, such an ancient house could not stand to be beaten time and again by their opponents, and so, they ceased to care for the original reason of Heaven's feel and altered their desire.

"From the Third Heaven's Feel ritual and beyond, the Einzbern participate, not to obtain their lost magic, but to simply win. For that asinine reason, the Einzbern decided to cheat, and the Avenger class was born."

"Wait," 'Red' interjected, holding up a palm to stop me, "Avenger class? There's no such thing."

"There is now." I replied, "The Einzbern were the ones that came up with the summoning of Servants into seven classes. It wasn't too difficult for them to come up with an eighth. I don't believe they were actually trying to create an 'Avenger' class per say. Rather, I do believe that they were attempting for something more along the lines of a 'Destroyer' class. That's the best reason I can come up with." I shrugged. "Either way, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that by using their knowledge of summoning to their advantage, the Einzbern attempted to summon a god."

"Impossible." 'Red' waved off. "No human has that kind of ability due to the-" the abrupt stop was then followed by a ragged exhale, "Of course, you are already aware of it." Said comment was not a question, which was a good thing, because I actually had no idea why it was impossible other than the gods were dead in this world.

I honestly wouldn't have been surprised if a god could have been summoned in an earlier age simply because of the numerous myths and legends regarding the gods. Hell, several times a god appeared simply because a mortal dared claim to be better than a god at something. Plus, Caster from fate/extra was technically a portion of a goddess herself.

No matter, back then I thought it was best to feign knowledge rather than admit ignorance. "Indeed." I nodded, completely lost to 'Red's' train of thought. "As I said, they 'attempted' to summon a god. What they got was what appeared to be the weakest Servant ever, at least for killing Servants. There probably isn't a better tool for killing humans short of Primate Murder. The Einzbern, however, used Avenger to take on a Servant, and was immediately killed.

"Now, why is this important?" I asked rhetorically, my right hand raised to point a single finger in the air. "Because of what Avenger was in life. Originally, he was a mountain village boy, who, for some reason, was picked by his village as the vessel of all the evils of the world. They beat and tortured him for decades before he died of old age. It was because he was made to be a vessel for all the evils that the attempt to summon the god Angra Mainyu matched the legacy possessed by Avenger, allowing him to be summoned.

"And when he got killed off in the Third Grail War," my right hand clenched into a fist, "His essence was collected into the grail, tainting it forever. As a vessel himself, Avenger had far too high an affinity, thus, even destroyed, he is not actually dead, per say. Now, I have a question for you, what do you think has happened now that a vessel of evil has merged with a wish granting device of near unlimited potential power?"

'Red' must have thought about it for a moment, the silence my only clue to the twisted thought process of this half mad individual. "A cursed vessel. One that destroys the wish maker."

"And everyone else on the planet." I added. "Remember, Avenger was the best weapon for killing humans. Magnify his power when unleashed and boom, instant genocide."

I couldn't hold back a long, drawn out sign. Partially because of the insanity of the reason, but also because that was probably more words out of my mouth in fifteen to twenty minutes than I usually speak in three or four days.

Still, I pushed on, needing to finish this conversation, and see if I have even the slightest chance of surviving the war. "That's why, that's why I need you." I said quietly. "I'm in over my head and can't do this alone and no other Master will listen to me or my words. They'll fight and fight and fight until the cup fills up and Avenger is unleashed. I need help, and you're the only chance I have. Please, will you fight for me?" As pleas for aide go, it was pathetic, but I'd all but run out of words at this point.

There was a pause, a terrifying, heartrending moment where I was almost certain the 'Red' would leave me alone in the midst of ground zero. It wasn't even the thought of not fighting the war that scared me, it was the thought of never going home that did. Without a Servant, I was stranded on a foreign country in a foreign world.

"You are my Master." 'Red' suddenly said as if it was the most obvious thing ever. "of course I will."

"Even though you were lied to?" I asked, feeling better and better by the moment. I thought at that moment that I had pulled it off.

'Red's' head seemed to blur in what I thought was a shake, "You have never lied to me Master, the creators of this farce did. I will fight for you."

"Even though there is no grand reward?" I ask again, my voice strong now. A sense of, if not pride, at least purpose within me. I may die, suffer a horrible death, but at least I will not be forced to stand back when a bunch of morons risk my life for me. With this one at my side, I have a chance. Not a good one, but a chance nonetheless.

"I need no cursed cup." 'Red' spat.

"Even if this road leads into hell itself, will you follow?" I can't help but smile. I've won. A minor victory, but I have won dammit. The first in a long string of battles is won, and I will do everything I can to come out on top/

"I have already been to hell," Red declared, "there is nothing I fear, nor that I cannot best."

Stretching out my hand to 'Red', I introduce myself "Very well. My name is ****** ********** *******, more commonly known as Max, I offer my knowledge and soul to victory I look forward to working with you."

"Under the class of Berserker, I Mordred, offer my blade and soul to victory. I look forward to working with you"

...Well crap

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Interlude

Through Clear Eyes of Madness

Rage

Rage dominated her thoughts

Rage consumed her thoughts

Rage enslaved her thoughts

Nothing but rage, nothing but hate rested within her mind

ARTHUR!

She roared within her mind

It never stopped. It never ended.

It began and ended with a single word

A single name

ARTHUR!

A name she once loved beyond measure

Now hated to the point of obsession

She had done her duty. She had been the perfect knight, defeating every foe with both speed and honor the like of which no other could compare. Lancelot was the strongest, Gawain was the loyalist, but she had been the best of all. She had never questioned, never disobeyed, and never gainsaid the king. Not once did she ever bring the king dishonor, not once had she ever given the king reason to doubt her abilities.

And what had it all amounted to?

Scorn, dismissal, betrayal.

The king she admired

The king she loved

Cast her away

Her own father, threw her away

So she gathered allies, she gathered disgruntled groups, she gathered mercenaries, she gathered bandits and more. She gathered them all and brought them to war, to hurt the one that hurt her so. The king had the gall to ask why she had done so, why the greatest of the king's knights had thrown everything away. So she told the king even as they fought, even as they hacked at each other. She unleashed all her bile, all her venom upon the king, the damned king who had not even the slightest trace of guilt.

Was it any wonder why she was willing to die to kill the king? Was it any wonder how she found the strength and skill to cast away the king's sword and leave her vulnerable? No, it came as no surprise to her; none at all. She had, at that moment, given the king a mortal blow. In that moment, she had won.

Only for her victory to turn to ash. That spear, that damned spear went right through her armor, her heart and out the back of her armor like they didn't exist. In her moment of glory, she had lost. That damned spear had killed her.

And the king, that damned king had left her, left her to bleed out and die alone on that hill. But she wouldn't die quickly. Her body had been made to be better, stronger, rougher than any man. Even as she lay dying, she heard the king make an oath, a plea to the world.

'Give me the grail to redo the sword selection ceremony. Give me the grail for a better king to take my place and I will serve the world forever.'

Hate

Hate beyond measure consumed her at this moment. The king was running away, undoing everything that was done. The king was undoing her. No, no she would not accept this. Never accept this. She would not let herself be undone. She would follow the king, hunt the king, kill the king again and again until the king knew only despair.

She would not let Arthur win, no matter what.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Through the eyes of the kaleidoscope let us gaze upon what could have happened:

"...Hello?" as speak carefully to the living statue, more and more certain that something had gone horribly wrong. Much to my chagrin and a little despair, all I got was a deep growling that set my teeth on edge.

"Um, do you understand me?" Yet another growl was all I got, not even a nod or shake of the head.

"Oh god, its the Berserker class." I can't help but say with dread. Of all the classes, this one is the most likely to get me killed. Well bugger that, no way I'm fighting with this thing dammit. I lifted my left hand. The three symbols on it making a picture of fire began glowing.

"I want to go home. I want to go home. I want to go home." I pleaded desperately. I don;t want to be here. I don;t want to get involved. I want to be left alone and safe back in my old life. I don't want the call to adventure, I don't want to be forced to act. Just take me home and leave me alone.

'Red' approached me then, roughly grabbing my arm before enfolding us both in light. In but a moments time, I was back in my apartment.

...Where He was sitting on My bed, resting beside His 'Red' reading one of My books. He looked up in surprise before sighing and suddenly saying, "You dumb fucker." I didn't have time to wonder what he was saying before I heard a roar right beside me and blinding pain emerged from my neck.

I was falling, falling, falling, my head bouncing on the ground. My body! My body is not attached to my head!

Clashing of swords echo around me. My body is blasted away in a whirlwind of red and white covered in a dance of death.

"Moron!" He screams above the symphony of death, "Why did you bring an uncontrollable Berserker back here?! Kill it Red! Kill it!"

Oh god, Oh god. I didn't want this, I just wanted to go home. Now I'm dead.

I'm dead

I'm-

DEAD END 1

AN: First of all yes, its a self insert. If you have a problem with that, you've probably already left already. I honestly started writing again because I am bored at the moment. I'm not sure how long I'll continue writing, but with any luck, this will inspire others to do better jobs than me at the moment.

I realize a lot of this is an info dump and not all that accurate. For the accuracy issues, there's three fold reason: One, I'm not the biggest diehard fan of Typemoon physics and history (which is confusing and contradictory at times) . Two, I don't think there would be a handy guide available if suddenly transported into another world, so base and unrefreshed memory would be required. Finally, there's an honesty story element involved that will (probably) be elaborated.


End file.
